Check-box for restaurants



l `\vv.H.1-1.\7voon. Check-B0X for Restaurants.

No. 225,036. Patented Mar. 2, 188.0.

vll V W' ,ma A nvm@ ggg N m/J N FEIERS. PHOTO-LITNOGRAPHER. WASHxNGToN DC UNITED STATESV PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. H. WOOD, 0F BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

CHECK-Box FoR RESTAURANTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters I-atent No, 225,036, dated MarchV2, 1880.

Application flied May 1.4, 1879.

. State of Massachusetts, have invented certain `new and usefulImprovements in Check-Boxes for Restaurants, Sac.; andI do herebydeclare that the following specification, taken in connection with thedrawings furnished and forming a part thereof, is a true, clear, andexact description of my invention.

My improved check-boxes involve various novel features in constructionand arrangement with relation to each other of the several parts, manyof which parts have been heretofore employed in various ways in fare andin check boxes, and the object sought by meis a check-box which willafford opportunity for supervision from a distance, so that one or vtimebe well guarded against any surreptitious attempts at withdrawing checkstherefrom.

My invention consists in a check-box embodying a glass front, aninduction-aperture above the glass, a guard-plate in said aperture, amovable check-controller, parallel with the rear of the glass "front,Aclosely adjacent thereto, for atly holding the deposited checks againstthe glass, a knob for externally operating the controller, and areceptacle below the controller-,into which the checks are nallydeposited after a movement parallel with the glass in their passage fromthe induction-aperture. 4

To more particularly describe my said iniprovements, I will referto theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents, in frontperspective, a check-box embodying the several features of my invention.Fig. 2 represents the same in central vertical section. Figs. 3 and 4represent, respectively, in front view and in central.

vertical section on line w y, a check-box embodying the main feature ofmy invention.

The box A, Figs.' l and 2, may be made in any desired form, of castmetal or wood, provided vvith a door at the rear, affording access toall parts of the interior, for the removal of checks or the adjustmentof the mechanism 5 and said door should be provided With a suitable lockfor securing the contents against all unauthorized persons. The front ofthe box is mainly vof heavy glass, as at a. The checkcontroller B, inFigs. l and 2, is of the character preferred by me, and is composed ofan endless belt, b, mounted on rolls, the axis of one of which extendsthrough the ends of the box, and is provided with a hand wheel orWheels, 0.whereby the check-controller may be rotated with aconsiderable proportion `of its surface parallel with the rear of theglass front and in close proximity thereto.

At the top of the box, adjacent to its front, is an induction-aperture,C, capable of receiving a pasteboard or other check edgewise and guidingits lower edge to a point between the coincident surfaces of lthecheck-controller and the glass, so that when the hand-wheel c is turnedin the proper direction the check will be carried downward and held atlyagainst the glass, and thereby enable a purchaser or any other person tobe assured that a check -representing the amount of cash paid has beenduly deposited, to be subsequently accounted for.

For assuring a more complete control over the checks the endless belt isprovided with slightly-projecting lateral cross-pieces b, of flexiblematerial, located at regular intervals.

For rendering the ind notion-aperto re C-practically secure against thewithdrawal of a check once inserted, it is provided with a stopplatehaving a sharp delicate lower edge, d, which, by its defacement incidentto the use of any sharp retractile instrument, would be so far defacedas to disclose the surreptitious attempt. Beneath the endless belt is areceptacle, which, in this instance, consists of the lower portion ofthe box or chamber, within which the checks are deposited after suchdis- IOO lation with the rear of the glass front by means of suitablesprings. Instead of hand-wheels, as in' the other form of box, thischeck-con troller is provided with a draft-rod, D, which projectsoutward through the. rear wall of the box, and is provided with ahandle, whereby the check-controller may be moved rearward at will forreleasing1 a check. The guardLplate d, previously described, is appliedin like manA ner to this form of box.

In order that a separation may be readily aiorded between the checksdeposited by one person and the next succeeding person on duty, Iprovide at the rear of the box, either in the door thereof or below it,a long narrow aperture, c,tl1rongh which a thin parting-card may beinserted, to serve as a means of separating the several checks depositedby one personvfrom those deposited by his successor.

It is to be understood that the object ot' this box is to perfect theaccounting system heretofore imperfect-ly provided fon in various ways,and it is an important feature in my check-box that the checks whileheld by the check-controller against the glass are visible, forinstance, across a store, so that persons whose interest it is may takeeither a general or special cognizance of a cash transactionjustcompleted; and as ythis involves necessarily the use of checks withlarge plainly-inscribed figures, I have devised a system of checksparticularly adapted for use in restaurants and other places, in whichthe color of the check is in itself a partial indication of the generalvalue to be represented, the Jfigures thereon relating to thevdetails-as, for instance, in a bar-room a red check would denoteten-cent drinks, and the number thereon the particular number of drinkssold of that value,.and so on throughout the range of prices; but saidsystem of checks constitutes no portion of my present invention, as Ipropose to make it the subject of a separate application for LettersPatent.

I am well aware that glass fronts for fareboxes are not new; but I knowof none in which a movable check or t'are controller at the rear of theglass is employed, wherein the checks are tlatly held against the glassduring their passage to the receptacle below.

I am also well aware that endless belts have been heretofore employed,arranged to be operated solely by the weight or gravity of metal checksor coin, and also that endless belts have been employed in the iiexiblearms of portable fare-boxes for conveying fares-or tickets from the end'of the flexible arm to the box, and in this latter class ot' devicesexternal means are employed for operating the belt; but I know ot' noprior endless belt or equivalent device so arranged with relation to aglass front that a check could be flatly held against the glass duringits entire passage to the receptacle',

and externally operated, so that paper checks could be used therewith aswell as heavy checks or coin. rlhe guard-plate employed b v me is animportant clement, because therewith a check once within the custody ofthe controller cannot be withdrawn, but must be permitted to pass to theaccounting-receptacle.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- The check-box embodying, in combination, the glassfront, the induction-aperture above the glass, a guard-plate in saidaperture, the movable check-controller, parallel with the rear of theglass front and closely adjacent thereto, for flatly holding thedeposited checks against the glass, a knob for externally operating thecontroller, and a receptacle below the controller, into which' thechecks fall when released by the controller after having moved parallelwith the glass in their passage from the induction-aperture,substantially as described.

WILLIAM H. H. WOOD.

Witnesses FRANCIS H. BACON, JAMES W. HoRroN.

